EXODUS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVIII, Issue 6201, 1 October 1881, Page 3

EXODUS.

* 1 I. God spake of old : His chosen people heard In Bondage—bitterest of human woes ; "With wondrous signs He verified His word, And filled with terror lurael's tyrant foes ; Strong in Ilis strength, the groaning captives rose, Cast off their bonds, and vowed they would bo froo ; They owned the Leader whom Jehovah chosc, And with him crosscd tho Boparated sea, Which, clcsing, whelmed in death all Pharaoh's chivalry ! As forth they went through desert wastes untrod, Their faith Krcw weak ; new terrors rose to smite ; They cursed their Leader; they forgot their God : Thirst, famine, flery serpents, brought affright. Jehovah spake from Sinai s awful height, "Water lie sent, and Heavenly manna strewed ; In pillar of cloud by day and fire by night He led them onward to their wished abode— The welcome Promised Land, whore milk and honey flowed. 11. Cod speaks to-day : and we who hear His voice, Dwelling in bondage of Disease and Pain, Arise, and making His high Will our choice, Snap with an effort overy binding chain. The flowing river, the familiar plain, The rugged mountain—all are left behind ; Yon churchyard mound wo may not see again, I Nor taithful friends, whoso lives wero intertwined And blended with our own, in heart, if.nd soul, and I mind. And forth we journey to a land afar, In Faith and Hope, across tho trackless deep ; ! Around us raves the elemental war, i High o'er our barque tho angry billows swoop ; But God vouchsafes to guido us, and to keep Our souls from faintness, and onr hearts from guile ; By bracing gales and sweet refreshing sloep Disease is vadquished ; and wo reach tho Islo Where Uealth holds rosy court, and Peace and Plenty smile. m God yet shall speak, and we shall hear Ilia voice In Life's dark bondage-house of Sin and Woo ; And reft of Time, and Circumstance, and Choice Shall at that awful summons rise and go. All tics must break that bind us hero below, Friends, parenta, children, brothers, sisters fond Must leave us when tho Waters darkest flow, While wo fare onward to tho far Boyond, Whence never to their prayers nor tears may we respond. Night shall encompass us, and Death's dark shade, And nameless terrors shall beset our way ; But He who leads shall say, "Bo not afraid !" And Faith shall close the phantoms of Dismay ; And soon shall dawn tho Everlasting Day, And wo shall see, with wonder-raptured eye, The Tree of Life and Health, which blooms alway In Love's bright home—tho Kingdom of the Sky— The Promised Land above, where bliss shhll never die ! J, K. Brighton Jtoad, Tarnell, September, ISSI. [Notk. —Tho author, being obliged to leave home for tho boneflt of his health, tho reflections embodied lin the foregoing lines suggested themselves on the voyage; and since arrival in Auckland, u few weeks ago, the poem has been completed.]